Cleaning Franco Belge Stove

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Fri. Dec. 16, 2016 9:47 pm

franco b wrote:
jasius wrote:slicing only in two spots. no poking, no third hole to slice that I know of
The left hand shaker uncovers two slots. One right in the middle. Take a light to it and see. Missing that leaves the center of the grate ashed up.
yep. missed that one completely. thank you for your patience

 
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Post by franco b » Fri. Dec. 16, 2016 9:54 pm

Work the poker from side to side and then in and out. Do each slot with poker offset in one direction and then do again with poker offset in the other direction.

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Mon. Dec. 19, 2016 8:56 pm

So... Largely to your help I now know how this thing works. Managed to run it for almost a week now. Even though in the morning it looks like it's almost done it still work after I shake it.

two questions, please:

-I am getting large amount of ash in front of the pan. is that normal?
-what setting do I bring it to for the night so it still runs? I now leave it at 4 and during the day since it's not cold at 5. I am afraid going lower

 
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Post by franco b » Mon. Dec. 19, 2016 10:10 pm

jasius wrote:-I am getting large amount of ash in front of the pan. is that normal?
-what setting do I bring it to for the night so it still runs? I now leave it at 4 and during the day since it's not cold at 5. I am afraid going lower
Large amounts of ash in the front of the pan would indicate to me that you are not clearing the back enough when working the poker in the slots. Work from side to side and then straight in and out, followed by shaking. Most ash should be in the middle of the pan.

40 pounds per day burnt and added is about maximum with 8 hour tending intervals. The front of the burning bed being thinnest will burn out first as the fire moves back to the thicker part of the coal bed. What setting is for most heat can vary with how the thermostat was set up in the beginning. What is proper is to have a recoverable fire after 8 hours. To go longer you will have to use a lower number. 5 will not last as long as 4 and 3 will last even longer.

If after shaking the bed is not entirely covered with fresh coal you can encourage more to drop by running the poker along the bottom edge of the hopper.

To gain a little more burning capacity you can raise the hopper to sit on top of the supports, but then you have to add something to the front to prevent coal from overflowing the bed.

Burning coal hotter in a thinner bed is more efficient, but the cost is in burning time. That is compensated by very quick tending times with no danger of puff backs. Experience will tell you just how high you can raise the thermostat number for a given heat output and burn time. That will be true on the low end as well. Feed only hot coal from the hopper and top it off after each tending. It might be convenient at times to just give it a little shake without slicing between regular tending times if you are home or up. The particular coal will act differently one from another. Years ago I hardly used the poker when the very fine Bethlehem coal was available. Looked like broken up black glass.

Move the thermostat setting only in small increments so you get a feel for what is happening. Pretty much leave it at one setting unless more or less heat is wanted.

Part of your installation is of course your chimney which should be easy drafting and not require a lot of heat to draft well. That in turn will dictate how low you can go. The thermostat can handle high draft without baro or manual pipe damper, both of which I would not recommend. Several CO detectors are mandatory and a manometer will let you keep track of what your draft is doing exactly.

 
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JerseyCoal
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Post by JerseyCoal » Tue. Dec. 27, 2016 9:23 pm

This may not be worth all the effort but, at the end of the burning season, I would haul my stoves outside and then blast 'em with a VERY powerful leaf blower.

It was a dirty, dusty job but it was quite effective! The firebox, hopper, heat exchangers and exhaust passage were squeaky clean. Didn't take much time either.


 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Fri. Apr. 13, 2018 7:28 pm

Dear all, i just enjoyed 3 months of warmth. Mostly due to your advice. Now I need another one since I want to clean it properly. First, how do I get to the air duct to clean it? It seems like without an extensive disassembling that can't be done. I cleaned the exhaust ducts and everything else without taking too much apart.
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Second, how do I clean the ductwork? it has thick layer, see pictures attached.
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Finally, how do I clean the horizontal portion of the chimney that goes into the wall? There seems a thick layer deposited. See pics. Thank you
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franco b
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Post by franco b » Fri. Apr. 13, 2018 9:48 pm

You need a shop vac with a bag designed for fine dust, and a brush once known as a radiator brush. Like a bottle brush only much longer and fatter. Can be bought at heating supply houses.

Place vac nozzle in close proximity and brush surfaces, followed by inserting the vac nozzle to clean up. Do this with exhaust passages and smoke pipe as well as chimney base. Brush other parts of stove and vac out residue. Having two brushes is handy with the brush part of one bent at a right angle in the middle of the brush part. Cleans elbows and bends much easier.

The pictures show much too much fly ash lying around. That might be from careless handling in cleaning but should not be what remains from normal operation. Always use the vac in combination with the brush.

The clean outs on the back corners probably have the original gasket destroyed. Use thin flat fiberglass gasket or furnace cement to seal. Dab the threads with anti-seize and tighten the knurled nuts hand tight.

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Fri. Apr. 13, 2018 9:55 pm

Got it. radiator brush. I already have the right vacuum with the right filter.
Most likely my cleaning is too casual and results in dust. The room is also very dusty after the Winter. Perhaps before next winter I will get some advice how to clean it without raising all the dust

Still, how do I clean that lowest duct, e.g. air supply? I can;t seem to get to it in anyway

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Fri. Apr. 13, 2018 10:29 pm

That is just the air duct and should not need cleaning. Do vacuum the ash chamber and the entrance port for the air in the center back of the ash chamber. The vac nozzle should be in one hand and the brush in the other. Keeping the nozzle at the entrance of a slot while brushing keeps the ash from floating about for you to breath and settle everywhere

If you are lucky enough to get a coal that ash can be cleared by shaking only the stove is very clean. Slicing the bed results in dragging out some ash with the poker when done.

Opening the upper door a bit when shaking and slicing will lower the draft through the coal bed with less fly ash accumulating in the exhaust.

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Fri. Apr. 13, 2018 10:34 pm

Very useful. yes, normally I slice perpendicularly with the upper door fully open. Only then I do the horizontal slicing and then shaking. I think that this perpendicular slicing really creates lots of dust


 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Fri. Apr. 13, 2018 10:51 pm

Poking from above should only be needed along the front edge and corners where the poker has difficulty reaching through the slicing slots.

 
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Post by Marcus » Fri. Apr. 20, 2018 2:34 am

jasius wrote:
Fri. Apr. 13, 2018 10:34 pm
Very useful. yes, normally I slice perpendicularly with the upper door fully open. Only then I do the horizontal slicing and then shaking. I think that this perpendicular slicing really creates lots of dust
I do the same.

 
riverrat58
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Post by riverrat58 » Thu. Oct. 15, 2020 7:52 pm

how do you clean the outside coated part without leaving a film

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Thu. Oct. 15, 2020 9:20 pm

With a cold stove you should be able to use enough water on a damp paper towel, enough times to not leave a film.

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